“The Drama Centre is a unique and vital institution in the Australian tertiary landscape. Its combination of bespoke practical training with the academic foundation of an arts' degree sets it apart from other drama schools. It is a testament to the vitality of teaching at Flinders that so many graduates have gone on to form highly successful independent companies including The Red Shed, Troupe, Brink Productions, The Border Project, Sandpit, and Rumpus. These companies have transformed South Australian theatre by producing innovative, highly contemporary work. Without them, the ecology of Australian theatre would be poorer. My own career as a theatre director and filmmaker is unthinkable without the dynamic, enlightened training I received at the Drama Centre in the 90s. It remains a time of deep inspiration, joyous discovery, friendship, and experimentation. The Drama Centre was a hothouse where my understanding of theatre was nurtured and cultivated. The four years of the BA, with an Honours year, offered a rigorous, exploratory approach that would have been lacking in any less substantial course.”

Benedict Andrews

Award-winning theatre and film director, Benedict is the former Resident Director at Sydney Theatre Company, Director at London’s Young Vic, playwright and Drama Centre Alumni

“At Drama Centre I was encouraged to think critically, to question and interrogate the world around me. It fostered my natural curiosity, empathy and optimism but also forged my determination, tenacity and resilience (necessities in any line of work, particularly this one). More than anything, it gave me a voice. It empowered us as storytellers and it taught us the importance of cultural democracy. I’ve been lucky to work as an actor around the world, exporting South Australian work in places and on projects I’d never dreamed of for the better part of a decade. On each project, in some capacity, I’ve drawn on the experiences, skills and techniques I learned at Drama Centre.”

Matt Crook

Matt is an award-winning actor, theatre maker and graduate of Flinders Drama Centre, working extensively in South Australia and overseas. Film credits include Top End Wedding (2019), Awoken (2020) and One Eyed Girl (2015). Matt has frequently performed for State Theatre Company of South Australia and Windmill Theatre Co. 

“Flinders Drama Centre led me to the life I have today. Its intensive acting training gave me everything I needed to get started in the industry. The unique and amazing experience I had there with the world-class teachers and my fellow classmates is irreplaceable, and is the very foundation of my acting career. It allowed me to have the skills and confidence to be able to work anywhere in the world.”

Ken Yamamura

Ken is a Flinders Drama Centre Alumni based in Tokyo. Ken has starred in films such as The Wolverine, Black Mirror: Playtest, 2014’s Godzilla, Earthquake Bird, and People Just Do Nothing: The Movie. 

“Many of our collaborators trained at Flinders and include Amber McMahon, Sam Haren, Alirio Zavarce, Jude Henshall, Ellen Steele, Antoine Jelk, Jim Smith, Elizabeth Hay and Katherine Fyffe all of whom have played a significant part in shaping Windmill’s work.

Flinders Drama Centre is South Australia’s leading centre for actor training. The course balances in-depth craft-based skills with direct work on performance projects. The artists trained at Flinders are deeply engaged in ideas and interdisciplinary thinking.

Developing the thinking around the role of the arts and culture to the broader world ensures the artists are rigorous, flexible and engaged.”

Rosemary Myers
Artistic Director, Windmill Theatre Co

A multi Helpmann Award-nominated director, her productions regularly visit leading stages and festivals around Australia and the world, including the Sydney Opera House and New York City’s New Victory Theatre. Her directing credits for Windmill include the multi-award winning Pinocchio and The Wizard of Oz.

“The wealth of talent that has emerged from the Flinders University training course over the years is rightly celebrated the world over. Producing both actors and directors – Flinders Drama Centre graduates consistently enter the industry as thrilling emerging artists ready to apply their skills, training and deep knowledge of the theatrical and cinematic arts to an ever diversifying array of new worlds and cultural movements. Grounded as they are in contemporary performance practice, graduates are consistently at the vanguard of new and innovative art and performance-making.”

Chris Drummond
Artistic Director, Brink Productions

Chris was Associate Director of State Theatre Company SA (2001-2004) and became Artistic Director of Brink Productions in 2005. His productions have been presented by most major theatre companies in Australia and have received numerous awards including Victoria Green Room and Sydney Theatre Awards. In 2010 the ABC’s Limelight magazine nominated Chris as one of the top 50 players in the arts in Australia.

“I can say without qualification that the graduates I have worked with from the Flinders University Drama Centre are among the best in the country and best in the world. I have been impressed by the rigour and quality of the Drama Centre graduates’ artistic practice, the depth of their theatrical knowledge, their appreciation of the wider concerns of the sector and industry, their commitment to the advancement of theatre-making excellence and advocacy for the centrality of the performing arts in the Australian cultural ecology.”

Mitchell Butel
Artistic Director, State Theatre Company of South Australia

With an extensive career in theatre, film and television, Mitchell is one of Australia’s most prolific, versatile and awarded acting talents. Mitchell received Helpmann Awards for Best Actor in a Musical for The Venetian Twins, Avenue Q and The Mikado and Green Room Awards for Hair and Piaf.